Musgrove Consistent, but Can't Get Run Support in First Two Starts

Joe Musgrove made his second start of the season on Wednesday and turned in almost the same numbers he did on Opening Day. However, the offensive support was not there for him as he and the team fell to the Milwaukee Brewers 3-0.

As a pitcher, when you are pitching well you normally are feeling good and the game just slows down for you. Over his first two starts, Joe Musgrove has pitched well, turning in two quality starts, but he is feeling anything but good. His record sits at 0-2 and his ERA is slightly higher than he would like at 4.76, but he has pitched well enough to keep his team in ball games. However, the offense hasn't done anything to help Musgrove's case in the early going. In his first 11.1 innings of work, Musgrove has allowed six earned runs and received zero runs of support. The Pirates were in a position to give Musgrove a no-decision in game one but, with only one hit on Wednesday night, they didn't even smell an opportunity to help Musgrove to his first win of the season.

Musgrove is in a new role with the Bucs this year serving as the team's ace of the pitching staff. Every five days he has to go toe to toe with the opposing team's top pitcher and work to keep the Pirates competitive. Through his first two starts of the season, he has done that putting up almost the same exact stat line both times out. His first start of the season saw him go 5.2 innings while allowing three earned runs on five hits while walking three and striking out seven. On Wednesday night, Musgrove again went 5.2 innings of work while allowing three earned runs on four hits while walking three and striking out eight. You would like to see your starter go deeper into the game, but overall those aren't bad numbers for the righty.

Let's take a look back at each of Joe Musgrove's first two starts and see what worked and what didn't. He is obviously pitching better than his 0-2 record would suggest, but he has had a few hiccups in the first two starts. His strikeout pitch is sitting right where he wants to as he has set down 31.9% of the batters he has faced this season on strikes. Musgrove has definitely shown improvement from previous years and has earned the #1 starters spot. He just needs to work on a few things and his offense needs to give him some run support.

Hammered by the Home Run

One of Musgrove's biggest problems so far in 2020 has been how many home runs he has allowed. In his first two starts, he has given up four long balls resulting in five of the six earned runs he has allowed this season. All four of those home runs were set up by Musgrove working the outside part of the plate and then trying to come back in. The ball doesn't travel far enough to full the hitter and has oftentimes ended up center-cut or pretty close to center-cut for the opposing hitter to take advantage. Three of the four bombs Musgrove has given up have been solo shots, which has allowed him to limit the damage he has given up this season.

It hasn't been just one pitch that has been getting hammered, as he has given up two home runs on the fastball and one each on the slider and changeup. He just isn't hitting his spots as precisely as he wants to in those at-bats and it is leading to hard hits. With every home run that he has given up this season, he has had at least one ball on the batter. He has given up two home runs in 1-1 counts, one home run in 1-0 counts, and one home run in 1-2 counts. Two of those home runs came against right-handed batters and the other two against lefties, so it has been a pretty even split. However, in all four at-bats, Musgrove had the same approach.

He has started the at-bat by working away to righties and inside to lefties, usually throwing a couple off the corner early. He then tries to cut the ball back to the opposite side of the plate, but for some reason, the ball doesn't break enough and ends up right around the middle of the plate. Any Major League hitter is going to take advantage of that and it has led to some struggles for the Pirates ace. Other than the home runs, Musgrove has been almost unhittable on the mound giving up just four non-home run hits all season. His opponent's batting average already sits at a cool .225, and if you take away the home runs, it drops below .200.

Strikeout Pitch is Working

One of the biggest positives over Musgrove's first two starts of 2020 has been his ability to strikeout batters at a high rate. He has faced 47 batters so far in 2020 and struck out 15 of them for a 31.9 strikeout percentage. Of his 15 strikeouts this season, almost half of them have come via his slider (7), while three came from his four-seam fastball. He likes to change the eye level of the batter throughout the at-bat, working the ball down as the at-bat goes on. Most of his strikeouts come on pitches down and in, and his slider helps him get that downward break that he is looking for while fooling the opposing hitter.

His slider has been especially devastating this season with more movement than ever before. It starts out flat until right before it reaches the hitting zone. Then, it takes a sharp nose dive to the right leaving batters swinging over top of the baseball. With Musgrove's new mechanics for the 2020 season, it makes the pitch even more deceptive to the opposition. He hides the ball better than he has in previous seasons and he brings his arm more from behind his body. This means that hitters are seeing the ball less and are unable to easily pick it up. This has accounted for the many swings and misses he gets on the pitch.

Overall, Musgrove has lived up to the Ace expectation that has been put on him this season. Although the numbers don't necessarily show it, if it weren't for a few big flies, he would be sitting in prime position with the elite in the game. If he can limit the home runs the rest of the way, there is no doubt in my mind that he can be a top pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He brings a fire and passion to the mound that is unmatched by anyone on the staff and his stuff is starting to match that fire. Hopefully, the offense can pick him up for the rest of the year and get his stats back on track.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are off Thursday but will return to action on Friday when they go on the road to face the Chicago Cubs at 8:15 pm. Trevor Williams (0-1) will make his second start of the season for the Pirates and the Cubs have not yet announced who will start for them. You can watch the game on AT&T Sportsnet or listen to the action live at 93.7 The Fan. The Pirates are looking to get back on track after dropping their first two series of the year.